lesiure battery

Post by **nutter** » 05 Aug 2007, 19:43

nearly every time i go away i manage to get elec hook up,and when i dont ive only been away 1 nite so my question is how long would my 65amp lesiure battery last powering a fridge as im going to vanfest which will be the longest ive been away without hook up. what does every one else do because ive got to keep my beers cold thanks tim

Post by **jamesc76** » 05 Aug 2007, 19:53

the fridge will empty that battery in no time at all is the fridge just 12 and 240 volts??? if so perhaps a load of freezer blocks in the fridge should help, use it like a cool box?????

Post by **ozzy** » 05 Aug 2007, 20:03

aint u got gas.....
If i put my fridge on 3 when on gas it freezes everything in it

Post by **tonytech** » 05 Aug 2007, 20:03

As above...
Fridges take 8 to 10 amps... your battery will last 6 hours if you are lucky.

Most campers have a fridge that runs on 12V for travelling (fed through a relay from alternator) gas or 240V for on site..

Best bet is to drink all your beers as soon as you arrive... Spend the rest of the weekend feeling sick...

T

Post by **thegamwellsmythes** » 07 Aug 2007, 07:45

I don't think our fridge would work on leisure battery when stopped anyway. It's only for when the engine is switched on.

If you have gas, use it, as Ozzy said stick it on 3 and it will never have been so cold. We froze some sausages and the milk earlier in the year (didn't mean to). Easily sort a bit of lovely lager out.

Post by **"WEAZLECHIN"** » 07 Aug 2007, 21:18

buy one of those little 950w generators to run it on 240, if its not got gas,(3 way) you can run em for 6.5 hrs on a full tank. just a thought..

Post by **nutter** » 07 Aug 2007, 21:39

ive got gas but did'nt trust it but i have taken it to a caravan dealer today and had it serviced and parts replaced and also bought a carbon detecter
as its a small area and i have a 9yr old so you can never be too safe. the pipe from the fridge to outside grill was'nt even connected so any fumes would come into the van so im glad i had it looked at, now im ready for vanfest

Post by **clartsonly** » 08 Aug 2007, 14:51

I have to be honest I would never trust leaving the gas on unsupervised either, can you not blast it cold every few hours and if it is left shut it should stay cool enough?

I watched our boat go up in flames behind the car when I was a child due to the gas being left on.

Post by **Horney** » 08 Aug 2007, 15:04

I have a 3way fridge that isn't connected to anyting. By freezing food items and milk that you don't plan to use for several days you can keep the fridge cool for 3 - 4 days. When in cornwall a couple of weeks ago we had 3 2 pinters of frozen milk, 4 frozen chicken breasts and a pack of frozen bacon in there. Fridge was filled on the saturday morning and the last of the frozen items defrosted on the tuesday afternoon. Not bad going although the weather wasn't baking so this does make a difference.

I will get my fridge hooked up at somepoint but I too am not keen on running it on gas when I'm not actually sat with the van.

Nick

Post by **Shootz** » 08 Aug 2007, 18:10

Im am currently having a new 3 way fridge fitted at the moment after the 2 way one i had caught on fire due to an electrical fault.

This time the 12 v is going to be connected to the leisure battery via a relay.
A new split charge system has been put in so when the van is struck up both the starter and leisure battery will be charged from the alternator.
By connecting it to the leisure battery there is no chance of the fridge draining the starter battery if it is accidently left on while parked.
Gas will be fine to keep running on the fridge as long as the flue is clear and please get your fridges serviced regular by a proffesional.
Gas fridges have been known to blow up,then there was my elecrical fire on the M42.
Best to be safe not sorry.
Lee.

Post by **perro** » 11 Aug 2007, 08:33

2 way fridges have a habit of combusting when running on electric . The problem is due to the connectors used on the heater probe. I have looked at 12 vans and 8 of them had the connectors badly charred. The answer is to fit decent quality connectors or better still solder and insulate . The traditional choc block types come loose with age as the wire is crushed. At 8 to 10 amps you get arking that eventualy burns the strands away causing heat build up the plastic goes brittle and with the vibration falls away leaving you with a mini arc welder under your fridge BAD TIMES . The gas option is good as if its serviced you can leave them running no problems I run my fridge on 12v when moving and gas when parked up . The best way I have found is to fit a car type battery under the seat which will be about 45 - 65 amps and a large 110 amp in a cupboard somewhere wired in parallel to the leasure battery as long as the circuit is fused below the capacity of your relay you should have no problems . We have been away for two weeks with minimal running about and not run out of battery.